With early versions of Windows came the concept of applets - small but functional
teaser programs that were intended to give new buyers a taste of the operating system's
promise. The applets became more like full-bore applications in subsequent versions of
Windows 3.x and Windows 9x. One such example was NetMeeting versions 2.0, 2.1 and 2.11.
NetMeeting was and is a great application - it is free, and it offers H.323 compatibility,
white boarding, text chats, audio, video, even application and file sharing - but it has
drawbacks. For example, meetings were not password-protected. The GUI took up much of our
desktop space. Chat messages were not delivered until users pressed enter, as opposed to
being real time. Unfortunately, these kinds of small issues, and version 2.x's favorite
son status among hobbyists and pornographers, have prevented the application from real
success in the business world.

NetMeeting 3.0, just released in beta, not only fixes many of those concerns, it also
takes on its latest teaser role: It showcases the potential of TAPI 3.0 and Windows 2000,
providing more security, a redesigned GUI, and better gatekeeper/Internet telephony
functionality. Version 3.0 also features remote desktop sharing, which was previously only
available in software like pcANYWHERE or Remotely Possible. Finally, version 3.0 exploits
many of the Exchange directory and address book features, plus improved application
sharing efficiency and functionality.

INSTALLATION
Installing NetMeeting 3.0 is easy, whether you're an individual consumer or the MIS
director of a large organization. On Windows 98, the entire program installed in just a
few minutes, even while we had several resource-hogging applications open, and it required
just one reboot. It did require re-tuning of our multimedia equipment and re-entering of
the user's personal information, but at least the information from the previous install
was listed as the default. All we had to do was click the "next" button a few
times and reboot, and it worked fine. Considering that our copy wasn't even a beta version
yet, and considering that we installed the program on several PCs of varying component
speeds, it's impressive that the installation was so smooth.

DOCUMENTATION
NetMeeting is one of those programs that ships only with online help, a few readme files,
and a consumer-oriented Web site. Like the installation, the online help files were
impressive for a program that was in pre-beta - we only found a handful of broken
hyperlinks (the help file is in Active Desktop mode) and we found a few pages that
wouldn't print. We were equally impressed with the "what's new" file, which
covers most new features in detail. Documentation that didn't yet exist as of our deadline
includes anything on the Microsoft Web site (there wasn't even a mention of version 3.0
yet) as well as anything about an SDK. As with most Microsoft applications that are
available for resale, we expect a flood of two-inch-thick developers' and users' manuals
to arrive at bookstores long before the final version debuts.

FEATURES
The most tangible new feature about NetMeeting is its redesigned GUI. The 2.x GUI was
large, taking up one-half to three-quarters of our screen, depending on the display
resolution. The new GUI, even when maximized, used only about one-eighth of a 15"
monitor at 1,152 by 864 pixels. The interface is designed for minimalists: Rather than
defaulting to a very large screen for Microsoft-sponsored directories, the GUI opens with
your choice of a dial pad or a local video window near the top (under the pull-down
menus), and dial, hang-up, and address book icons in the top right. Beneath these items
are icons for play/pause, picture-in-picture, and volume. Beneath that is a meeting
participants' listing. On the bottom are icons for application sharing, text chat, white
boarding, and file sharing, directly on top of a status bar.

Things we like about the new GUI include the local video/dial pad toggle, the
picture-in-picture option, and the view options for compact, data-only, and always on top.
Besides some minor issues discussed below in the "Room for Improvement" section,
our only major concern with the new GUI is that is can't be resized - it's either
minimized or maximized, and that's it. Pop-up GUIs are the exceptions here. These are the
screens that appear when users choose individual features, like file transfer, etc. These
screens can be resized, but only to a certain point.

As explained in the "what's new" file, other new features are divided into
four categories. These include directories/address lists, security, application sharing,
and remote desktop sharing. There is also a fifth category, miscellaneous, that should be
documented as well.

Using a directory server and address lists, users can find other users through their
personal Exchange-based address books and distribution lists, whether they are from other
directory servers or from the Internet. As with programs like Outlook, distribution lists
are divided into global and personal sections. There is also a distinction made between
generic directory servers and Microsoft Complete Internet Conferencing: The first is
simply a Microsoft-maintained list of places to find people, whereas the latter is
actually a Microsoft-maintained directory.

Another important new feature is the gateway and gatekeeper settings. While version 2.x
offered only a taste of these options, version 3.0 offers fields for a gatekeeper name,
account name, and telephone number, plus fields for a proxy server and
gateway-to-telephone/videoconferencing systems. This simple interface, hidden under
Tools/Options/Calling/Advanced, could be just what NetMeeting needs to be the killer
application for bringing VoIP to the mainstream.

Security is also a major improvement. At the basic level, all calls can be secure or
non-secure, which is the default setting. Options for secure calls include data
encryption, certificate authentication, and password protection, but in secure calls, the
audio and video options are disabled. In meetings, all calls are either secure or
non-secure; calls between meeting participants can not be of different types. Another
security option that's unique to meetings is the host's ability to limit what features
participants can enact. For example, meeting hosts can disable the right of anyone but
themselves to begin any of the six main features (application sharing, text chat, audio,
white boarding, file sharing, and video), and hosts can make themselves the only
participant who can invite or accept others into the meeting. Hosts can also enable
meeting names and - finally - meeting passwords.

Application sharing provides the ability to give control of a program to callers who
don't have that program on their computer. As with version 2.x, only one user can control
an application at a time, and if "Controllable" appears in the title bar of the
shared application, then callers know that the application is available for them to
control. Other application sharing features include the ability to "unshare"
specific programs or to "unshare" all programs, a feature for automatically
accepting control requests or for requiring manual acceptance, and a do-not-disturb
feature for temporarily disabling non-host control without actually switching the feature
off. Users who have been granted control by the host can pass control to other users, as
long as they are also using version 3.0, and the host can take control again at any time.

Remote desktop sharing is a powerful new feature which, when perfected, could make
pcANYWHERE and Remotely Possible unnecessary. Users activate the feature, then close
NetMeeting - the feature doesn't work if NetMeeting is open. Remote sharing also only
works with secure calls, and there is password protection. Microsoft correctly recommends
that the shared computer be identified by its name and not by its IP address, because an
IP address in the wrong hands is more dangerous than just a computer name.

Finally, other interesting features include:

A separate white boarding feature for calls to users of earlier NetMeeting versions.

OPERATIONAL TESTING
The advanced meeting security, the new remote desktop sharing, and the better GUI are the
most valuable new features. NetMeeting was a program that we think was worth paying for as
early as version 2.0; now, version 3.0 is even more valuable. The fact that Microsoft
still gives it away for free even though it's worth paying for (and the fact that it's
evolved from an applet into a real application bundled with the operating system), shows
something about the best of what's possible from Redmond.

Other operational issues that are notable include the icons/buttons, which all work in
the Active Desktop/Web style. This style is especially notable when the dial pad is
switched on: As you move the mouse cursor across the dial pad, the buttons go into a
three-dimensional shadow mode with a yellow undertone, which creates a visual effect
similar to a telephone's buttons that are back-lit for nighttime use.

Overall, the entire application is easy to use - sometimes it's hard to believe that it
comes from the same people who created NT Server. All menus are intuitively placed, there
is virtually no clutter, there are ToolTips (pop-up button help), and the new GUI bears a
much closer resemblance to other Internet telephones (like WebPhone, for example) than it
previously did. We would like to be able to resize, invert, and generally manipulate the
picture-in-picture windows, features that we're already used to on televisions and better
videoconferencing systems. Particularly for people who've used version 2.1, learning
version 3.0 will take all of 20 minutes. We also liked the simplicity of the file transfer
option. We were impressed with how fast this feature works.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
As we mentioned, many minor items could use improvement. The local video/dial pad window
should have icon or button toggle directly from the main GUI. There is no way to block
calls from specific users or to grant rules-based, user-specific control or
application/file sharing: These features are on for everyone or off for everyone and
fixing that would be a huge improvement. There's still no way to share applications
without opening them first. This can be circumvented by sharing the Windows Explorer, but
we think that a customizable hyperlink to the Start menu directly from the Share menu
would be invaluable. Finally, there is not as much backward-compatibility as there could
be, as many of the in-meeting options (like feature-specific blocking by the host) only
work with other users of version 3.0.

CONCLUSION
NetMeeting 3.0, despite minor issues and some areas where it can still be improved, is an
extremely valuable upgrade from any of the previous versions. There are even more features
that Microsoft engineers say will be included as a part of Windows 2000 when it debuts -
for example, more responsive video, better audio quality, more video camera drivers,
extensive help files, and better organized Internet-based directories. Most importantly,
the debut of TAPI 3.0 and Windows 2000 features like Active Dialer can turn NetMeeting
into a truly universal, truly integrated product, much in the same way that Microsoft says
Internet Explorer is becoming more of a Windows feature than a separate product line. This
is a great product in spite of its flaws. It shows real innovation and promise for the
near future and it's still free. Clearly, it represents all of the good things about
Microsoft, and we're proud to bestow upon it our Editors' Choice award.